A Saiyan Among Wizards
Chapter 24
A Silent Resolve
A/N: Personal update, I finally got my Fairy Tail tattoo. Same place and color as Gajeel's. Carry on.
*Insert TFS disclaimer. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and Funimation. I do not own any other mentioned properties.
"It' sooo hoooot," whined Lucy from her deckchair, dressed in a flowery bikini.
Marcus opened an eye to look down at the deck from were he layed on the fore mast's yard. He had been there for a good portion of the journey pretending to sleep, making the others wonder how he could be comfortable with a giant sword strapped to his back. He had been ignoring them for the most part, readying his resolve for the coming storm and preparing himself for the possibility that he may fail, that they won't make it out of this one. In the week leading up to the S-Class trials, he had visited King Kai and left him instructions to watch over them and report to his friends and family if the worst should come to pass. But most importantly, keep them out of the whole affair. This was his mission, his chance to prove that Goku hadn't trained him for nothing. He was also set on revealing that he knew almost exactly how everything was going to play out if he could take down Acnologia and change the timeline. It wouldn't matter then, so what would be the harm in telling them. But, if they were to be put under the seven year stasis, he would continue to keep it secret until the end of the Grand Magic Games, as he had originally planned.
"Lighten up, you're being too serious about this," said King Kai, startling Marcus. But the movement was small enough that no one noticed.
"How can I not be!? You know better than I that power levels are bullshit and its anyone's guess for what the outcome will be."
"Fine, if you're gonna be such a sour puss I'll just send Goku your way," he said childishly.
"Nooo," exclaimed the saiyan, shooting up too fast and upseting his balance, causing him to fall and land spread-eagle on the deck with a long, quite groan. He gave a thumbs up to say that he was fine so he wouldn't have to explain himself. Hoping that they believed his outburst had been the result of a dream, he continued telepathically, "If you send him, it'll bring a lot of questions that I can't answer."
"Fine, fine, I was only kidding, sheesh. But if things start to get dicey, I'll have him on standby to teleport you guys out of there."
"Why?" Rubbing the spot where he had hit his head on the deck as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. "Can't you just revive us with the Dragon Balls if we're killed instead of trapped in time?"
"That's the thing... I asked Dende if Shenron or Porunga can do that and he said that they would only be able to revive one of you since you are all from demensions that the Namekians had no idea existed before they altered the Dragons' wishing abilities."
"Then just use Porunga then if they can only bring one of us back per wish," as he began to stand.
"I think you misunderstood me, both of them can only revive one person total per demension."
Marcus froze and paled, his eyes became fearfully wide as the implications of those words made themselves brutily, painfully clear. If he died, that was one thing, but if more than one of the others did he wouldn't be able to choose who to bring back. The thought alone tortured him enough that he began to feel like his heart was going to collapse under the pressure. Forcing himself to be more focused on what he could sense on the island, he jumped when he felt a hand enclose around his wrist and wheel him around to face the owner.
Gajeel, who had been arguing with himself whether or not to do so, had come over to see what was wrong with Marcus even though they were opponents since no one could reach him with words. The dragonslayer had a look in his eye that told the saiyan that he wasn't going to leave him alone until he got a satisfactory answer. "What's goin' through that head of yer's? I know that look, it means something really bad happened and yer gonna tell me whether you like it or not," he said quietly enough that Marcus had to hang onto every word.
"I can't, at least not until I'm completely certain of something," he hissed in equal silence, thinking fast, "but I will promise you this, I will know by the end of today. Can you wait until then?" If there was anything that he had picked up from Gajeel, it was how to counter his stubborness.
"You promise?"
"Promise."
They kissed and turned to the sound of Gramps explaining the first trial and it's rules. Marcus, already familiar with the details, got ready to take off at the master's word. When the start had been announced, everyone turned to see a dust cloud where the saiyan had been standing and a golden comet streaking towards the smoke signal.
Landing gently, his black hair falling back into place, he reached out and searched for others on the island. It was a given that the S-Class were here and he chose a cave that didn't lead to any of them. As he continued to feel out Tenrou, three more presences stood out, one etherial, one carried the feeling of death, and the final one he could not pin point as he felt it everywhere in equal amounts. He stuck his blade in the ground as he came across a closed gate. Though he could blow it away with a flick of his hand, he had to obey the master's rules and sat cross legged with eyes closed against his Buster Sword as he awaited his challengers.
"Ah, Marcus is our first opponent."
"Two against one, this is going to be easy!"
"Easy! Easy," chanted Bixlow's dolls.
"If that's what you think," Marcus said, not even bothering stand, "then I let you have the first move to show how wrong you are."
"If you insist, but know this," announced Freed, drawing his sword, "we will not be holding back even though we are friends."
"Good to hear, cause neither will I."
Freed and Bixslow attacked simutainiously, leaving a crater where the saiyan had been sitting. When the dust cleared, both the man and his blade had disappeared.
"Oooo, nice shot! Try again for a Jewel," said a slightly mocking voice from above. The two looked towards the source to find Marcus standing on the pommel of his sword, which was impailed at a downward slant in a wall.
They bombarded him with magic attacks, this time he did not move from his post and stuck out a hand to create an invisable shield of energy. Finding that this was a waste of precious energy to maintain, he stepped off the blade, grabbing the hilt as he fell, and spun upwards to bring the back of the blade down in a earth-shattering blow between the two mages, knocking them off balance. In his haste, Freed and Bixslow seemed to be moving in slow motion as they tried to regain their footing. Tossing his sword into the air, he took out Freed first, swiftly followed by Bixslow. As they fell, Marcus jumped into the air after his sword and flipped over once as it slid into it's harness. He landed cat-like in front of the gate, an arm and leg outstreched for balance and a hand on the hilt to steady his blade.
"Sorry guys," dropping his cheerful act for something more grim, "but I can't waste my time playing with you," walking through the now open gate.
As he walked through the remainder of the cave, he began to talk to himself. "Now that deathly presence has to be Zeref, no doubt about that, and the one I'm sensing from the plants is most likely that guy from Grimmoire heart," he half-whispered, chin tucked in his fingers, "That leaves Mavis to be that last one, the one that's all ghostly."
"Wow, you've got be the first person to know I was still here in a long time," said a small girl in a white dress with long, blonde hair.
"Jesus Christ!" Marcus probably jumped a good five in the air from the sudden appearance of the first master on his left.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized, bowing slightly.
"It's fine, I just wasn't expecting you to come out nowhere like that," assuring to her that all was well.
"That's good. So, you know who I am but I don't know who you are."
"Marcus Sabeth, saiyan, Fairy Tail member, and interdemensional traveler. I'm currently in the middle of the S-Class trials."
"Sounds like fun, can I join you?"
"I don't see why not but uhhh..."
"What is it," she asked innocently.
"Can you keep a secret," she nodded. To her, the saiyan confessed his real goal whilst on the island and the consequences if he did not succeed. He told her that he knew of the spell that could save them if he failed, "I'm asking this of you now, if it comes down to it, take whatever you need to save us. It might just be better than the alternative and I just can't choose who should come back," he finished desprately.
"Do not worry, you have my word that I will do whatever I can to save you and the rest of the members of my guild."
"I can't thank you enough," he said, relieved beyond words.
"Your dedication to your friends is thanks enough," she said, smiling warmly, "It makes me so glad that our guild has become so much like the family I had envisioned it to be."
As they walked through the tunnel's end, a thought occured to Marcus. "Hey Mavis," she hummed in response, "can the other's see you?"
"If what you've told me is true, only you can for now."
"Good to know," bringing an end to their conversation.
Marcus had been the first to finish the first trial, so he spent his spare time focusing on resting and answering Mavis's questions out of the corner of his mouth so he wouldn't be seen as a lunatic. A lot of it was the basic set of questions for someone like him, what was a saiyan and others of the like. She was very interested in the relationship between him and Gajeel, budding yaoi fangirl in the making, and as he answered her inquiries, he began to notice something.
Their relationship was kinda in a wierd place, it wasn't as solid Natsu and Lucy's or anyone elses. It felt like that they were just really good friends that had tendacies that would make it look as though they were dating. Marcus really did love him, but was it the love for a boyfriend or that of a surrogate family member. This left him a bit unsettled, but he couldn't focus on that right now. He had a mission to complete and he would not let these thoughts distract him from that.
The last of the five teams finally hobbled into view a few minutes later looking rather ragged. But that was unimportant, on the edge of Marcus's purposely limited energy senses, the rest of Grimmiore Heart were on their way to collect Zeref. Unaware that their endeavor would prove fruitless and ultimately become their downfall, if Marcus didn't get his hands on them first. He half listened to Makarov giving their next task of finding Mavis's grave. There was no need to be worried about that at the moment, two more of the dark guild's members came ashore and were prowling through the island's forest. Marcus made a mental note to keep a perverbial eye on them as he took off into the sky near the Tenrou tree whilst he waited.
He and Mavis were there for a while, she sat in his lap as he meditated in midair to better observe the going ons of the island below him. Mavis, at one point, asked if he was going to continue the trial and look for her grave, being able to lead him right to it. He shook his head and told her, "Protecting our guild is my only concern right now. But if I were to do so, wouldn't it be cheating to have you help me? Besides, I could just follow Gramps's energy signal." He said nothing more after that, but she was happy with his response, almost proud. She kept to herself as she seemed to be thinking of someway to reward him for his selflessness.
After almost two hours, Marcus told the young master that is was time for him to start fighting. She knew she wasn't much help in battle so she promised to wait for him at the base camp as he began to take on his real task.
Natsu and the others had encountered Zeref and were fine for the time being. There was a moment when the dragonslayer's energy was almost completely enveloped by the dark wizard's. But before Marcus could so much as move in thier direction, it reappeared. So the saiyan was now moving steathily towards Gajeel and Levy's position, sensing the hunters from earlier nearby. He had been able to jump in to save the script mage before the iron dragon, but he had made a slight error that was definately going to leave a mark.
Staring down the attacker in front of him while holding the other by the beak. "You alright Levy," he asked as blood bloomed from the blade impailed through his forearm.
"Yeah but..."
"There's a fucking sword in your arm," Gajeel exclaimed, a bit exhasperated.
"Oh yeah, you'd think that this would hurt like a bitch but I barely feel it," throwing the bird into his friend and wrenching the sword from his grip, "You two should go let the others know that we've got unwelcome guests and more would be arriving soon. Which, I might add, you would've known about if you had been paying attention," chastised the saiyan.
"Whadda ya mean," he asked.
Marcus sighed. He broke the front of the blade near his arm and tossed at his dazed opponents, sufficantly killing them. Pulling the remainder out by the hilt, "If you actually look for energy in that direction," pointing with the katana, "you'll find the entirety of Grimmiore Heart knocking on our doorstep." His voice low and eyes slightly dark with the resolve to kill again. "And before you say anything, their entire guild wants us dead, so if we stop them from moving, whether by death, serious injury, or retreat, they will keep at it until they succeed or die. Killing them is the most merciful thing I can do, you both have seen what I can do when that isn't my intention." Niether of them could argue with that logic and silently watched him as he scribbled something on a paper he made and impailed it on the blade. Checking to see if it was secure, the saiyan made a quick calculation before chunking the sword in the direction of dark guild's airship, spinning end over end.
"What was that," asked Levy.
"A declaration of war. You two head to the base camp and warn those there, I'll gather the others and bring them back there as quickly as I can." He then disappear in a blur, leaving the two to shrug to each other and follow the saiyan's orders.
~~~~On the Grimmiore Heart airship~~~~
Everyone one the main deck had become stock still as a broken katana crashed through the canopy and grazed against Hades' shoulder as it impailed itself in the wall behind him. They were all silent as he removed it and read the attached letter aloud:
Greetings from Fairy Tail,
This is just a formality of war that I must observe and I will tell you quite plainly, if you believe that you will cover this island in the blood of fairies and aquire Zeref, you are dead wrong. I have already taken out two of your hunters with no effort and from what I sense from here, your top mages won't do much better against us. As you read this, I am gathering our members to face you united and as one mind. I will give you one chance to turn around and leave before we break your forces down to nothing. If any of your members wish to surrender, they will be treated with great kindness and will not be turned over to the agent from the Magic Council that believes himself hidden amoung our ranks.
Sincerely,
Marcus Sabeth, the Golden Warrior of Fairy Tail
P.S. That graze on the shoulder was completely intentional.
"What are your orders Master," asked Ultear.
Hades growled, "How could this punk know of our plans and my exact wording? Who is this 'Golden Warrior,'" he asked.
Ultear spoke, "From what I gathered on Galuna Island, he is from a different demension, extremely powerful, and seems to more about what's going on around him than his guildmates. He saw through my disguise and looked at me with pity as he asked me what it felt like to watch what remained of my mother melt away. When I answered that I was glad to see her go, he responded with, 'is that what you truely feel, deep down?' As much as I would wish otherwise, his words still ring inside my head." She indeed truely looked troubled by it.
"Sounds like your getting soft Ultear," jeered Zancrow
"You would be singing a different tune if you saw what I did a few weeks ago," snapped the time mage, "He fought a god and won, tortured him for almost killing his lover." She shivered minutely at the memory.
"He what," exclaimed the godslayer.
"Enough," commanded Hades, "this Golden Warrior sounds like he will be a hinderance to our plans, Ultear," calling upon the mage, "You seem to have been observing him for a while now, what can you tell us of his abilities?"
"He has three forms, one is his base form in which he is still quite powerful. The other two are where his 'Golden Warrior' name comes from and his power leaps expenentually. He mainly uses his hands and weapons for combat, but I have seen him use blasts that can obliterate entire mountain ranges with ease. He can aslo create anything he needs just by clapping his hands together to form a circle. His eyes are artificial, so illusionary and eye magic are useless on him," surmized Ultear.
"So in short, we're screwed," sighed Zancrow.
"Not neccessaryly, he does have limits. He's extremely weak to lightning magic and he cannot use his creation abilites with his other powers without putting great strain on himself," said Ultear.
"Excellent, we shall continue with assult on Tenrou Island. You have you're orders, and you see the Golden Warrior," said Hades confidently, "he is mine to kill."
